Brush up on your art skills with this salt & watercolor painting project
Think (or paint) outside the box wiht this unique painting technique! One-part experiment, one-part art experience, this salt & watercolor painting project will give you a wall-worthy finished project, while you learn some STEM skills along the way.
Materials you will need:
Paper (Watercolor paper works best, but cardstock or sketchbook paper can also work)
Paintbrush
Watercolor paints
Salt
Water to rinse your painbrush
Directions:
Step 1
Set up your workspace and start painting! Keep in mind, your painting will change when you add the salt, so don’t worry too much about the details!
Step 2
While your painting is still wet to the touch, sprinkle it with salt. Watch closely as the salt absorbs the water on your paper, and some of the color along with it!
Step 3
When you’re finished, let your salt and watercolor painting project is completely dry, and gently rub the salt off the paper.
Expand on the Activity:
Try different kinds of salt! Table salt, sea salt, and rock salt are all great to try. How does the size of the salt grain impact what you see happen on your painting?
The amount of water on your paper will have a big impact on how it looks when you add the salt. Experiment with adding the salt at different points as your painting dries to see which effect is your favorite.
Be sure to share your salt watercolor painting project with us by submitting a photo or video to our Science Showcase here or tag Orlando Science Center and use #OSCatHome on social media! You might be featured on our channels.
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Prototyping fails are a part of science. Check out some of ours!
Sometimes you don't get it right on the first try, or the second, or the thirtieth. But that's OK! In science, prototyping fails are a big part of the process. We try to always showcase our best work, but here are some messiest mistakes with you in honor of Mess Month! Enjoy!
Rainbow So-dud
We tried to do a Diet Coke and Mentos style fountain with different colored sodas to make a rainbow! We even invited some guests to watch us prototype, but as you can see it did not make for a quality show.
Indoor Foam-splosion
Leading up to Mess Fest last year, we invited some news anchors to come experience the mess with us outdoors. The weather didn’t cooperate with our plans, so we moved inside. We had forgotten how messy a foam explosion really is!
Diet Coke Disaster
During Mess Fest, we do several Diet Coke and Mentos fountains. In 2019, we bought 30 Diet Coke bottles for the occasion. Only 29 made it inside – one exploded at our loading dock.
You Don't Want to Eat This Spaghetti
If you’ve done our 3D Design workshop in The Hive, you know how that even the smallest flaw in a 3D print can make things go awry. Whether it was the leveling of the print bed, the design sticking to the extruder, or something else, this vase did not turn out as expected.
Basket Weaving Misadventure
We’ve been pretty lucky with our open make activities in The Hive. Usually, we prototype for a day or two, make adjustments, and end up with a successful activity. Basket weaving did not go this way! We ended up using most of our supplies in one day and ending up with a tangled mess of paper rods.
A Colossal Cleanup
KidsTown gets messy on purpose pretty often – sensory play is an engaging way to learn fine motor skills, cause and effect, and more. But the cleanup can be a different story! Our staff and interns had to scrub for a long time to get all the paint off their hands!
What science mishaps have you had?
Be sure to submit your photos and videos of your experiments to our Science Showcase here or tag Orlando Science Center on social media and use hashtag #OSCatHome for a chance to be featured on our channels!
As Miss Frizzle says, take chances, make mistakes, and get messy!
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Find out when we release new resources by following us on social media!
Follow us on social media for even more science fun including fun facts, games, behind-the-scenes photos, and more!
Support OSC At Home
In these ever-changing times, it is our pleasure to adapt quality Orlando Science Center experiences to engage with everyone while they are safe at home. Please consider supporting our operating fund to ensure we can continue developing resources today and well into the future. Thank you for your generosity and support!
Create a stunning masterpiece when you follow these step-by-step instruction for how to make marbleized paper – a sensory STEAM project for kids and adults alike!
It’s always fun to use materials in new ways, and this is likely one way you’ve never used shaving cream before! Use our directions for how make marbleized paper and follow along with the questions included to help you make observations as you create! Not only will you have a wall-worthy finished project, you'll also learn some neat STEM skills along the way.
Materials:
Shaving cream
Paper (start with a heavier weight paper, like cardstock or construction paper)
Food coloring* or washable paint such as liquid watercolor or tempera paint
Popsicle sticks (If you don’t have popsicle sticks, read the directions carefully and substitute in a different tool. Tooth picks are great for creating the marble effect and a ruler or spatula work well to remove the shaving cream from your paper at the end!)
*Warning: Food coloring can stain! If you're worried about mess, substitute washable paint. Either way, mess-friendly play clothes are recommended for this activity!
Directions:
STEP 1
Spray some shaving cream onto a protected work surface.
STEP 2
Spread the shaving cream out so it’s about ½ an inch thick.
How does the shaving cream feel? Is it a liquid or a solid? Do your best to describe it.
STEP 3
Add a few drops of food coloring on top of the shaving cream. Make sure you leave some space between each drop.
What do you observe as you drip the food coloring onto the shaving cream? Does it mix in? Does it sit on top? Sink to the bottom? Spread out flat? What do you see happening?
STEP 4
Use a popsicle stick to drag the food coloring around on the top of the shaving cream, creating a marbled effect.
Do the colors mix with the shaving cream? Do they stay separate? Do they mix with each other?
STEP 5
When you’re happy with the marble you’ve created, place your paper on top of the shaving cream and food coloring and gently press down. Depending on how thick your paper is, you may see the marble start to show through the other side. Let it sit for about 5-10 seconds.
STEP 6
Carefully remove your paperand place it shaving cream side up on a protected work surface.
STEP 7
Use a popsicle stick to very gently scrape the shaving cream off your paper. This will likely take a few passes and it may help to remove the shaving cream from your popsicle stick between each pass.
The food coloring has soaked into your paper, leaving behind a marbled pattern! How is the design on your paper similar to the design you saw on your shaving cream? How is it different?
STEP 8
Let your paper dry for a few minutes. Once dry, use a tissue or paper towel to brush off any leftover little bits of shaving cream.
Display your marbleized paper with pride, or add it to a larger project! Be sure to share your mess-terpieces with us by submitting them to our Science Showcase here or tag Orlando Science Center and use #OSCatHome on social media! You might be featured on our channels.
NOTE: It’s best to let the paper dry completely before cutting it or writing on it.
Expand on the Activity!
Try this again and try using more or less food coloring. How do your results change?
Test out different kinds of paper. What happens when you try this with printer paper, newspaper, tissue paper, cardboard, or colored construction paper? What kind of paper works best?
Experiment with making different shapes and patterns with the food coloring in the foam. How many different patterns can you make?
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In these ever-changing times, it is our pleasure to adapt quality Orlando Science Center experiences to engage with everyone while they are safe at home. Please consider supporting our operating fund to ensure we can continue developing resources today and well into the future. Thank you for your generosity and support!
What if we told you that you could freeze time with just a balloon, tape, and some water? Now what if we showed you how to demonstrate laminar flow at home?
We promise this isn’t CGI magic or a trick of the camera. What you are seeing is aparticularly interesting fluid dynamic, which is a scientific way of saying the flow of a fluid (which is any liquid or gas), called laminar flow.
Below we are going to explore the following questions: What is laminar flow? What is laminar flow used for in everyday life? And most importantly, how can you demonstrate laminar flow at home?
What is Laminar Flow?
Laminar flow is a type of flow pattern of a fluid in which all the particles are flowing in parallel lines, opposed to turbulent flow, where the particles flow in random and chaotic directions. A flow is either turbulent, laminar, or somewhere in between. This is measured by the Reynolds number which is a ratio between velocity (the speed of the flow) and viscosity(how thick or thin the fluid is). The more viscous, or thick, the fluid is the faster it can flow without going turbulent.
What is Laminar Flow Used For?
Laminar flow has a wide range of real-life applications. A type of laminar flow is achieved everyday by pilots. A smooth flight occurs when the flow of the air over an aircraft’s wings is laminar. If the pilot runs into a very turbulent patch of air the wing cannot correct the air to make it laminar, causing turbulence.
A different example of laminar flow occurs everyday inside of you.Blood flowing throughout your body is flowing laminarly.
One last example of laminar flow is syrup, or honey, flowing out the nozzle. Because the liquid is so thick, or viscous, the Reynolds number indicates that the flow is very laminar.
How Can I Demonstrate Laminar Flow at Home?
The following video and steps below it are detailed for you to try and recreate laminar flow at home.
Adult supervision is required as this experiment involves the usage of sharp and potentially dangerous objects.
Step One: Gather the following materials:
One balloon
Duct Tape or electrical tape
Water
A sharp object (to pierce the balloon)
Step Two: Fill the balloon with water and tie it off.
Step Three: Make a square on your balloon out of tape. Make sure you pat down the tape, so it’s smoothly secured. Different sized squares result in different sized flows.
Step Four: With adult assistance pierce the balloon inside the square with your sharp object and watch as the water flows out laminarly!
How did it go? Try taking your own spin on the experiment, does the amount of water change the results? How about where you place the square? Do you think you can get multiple flows to happenon the same balloon?
If you tried to demonstrate laminar flow at home, be sure you submit you photos and videos of your experiments to our Science Showcase here or tag Orlando Science Center on social media and use hashtag #OSCatHome for a chance to be featured on our channels!
Until next time,STAY CURIOUS!
OSC At Home Emails
Get a round up of our latest activities and ideas delivered straight to your inbox so you don't miss a thing!
Find out when we release new resources by following us on social media!
Follow us on social media for even more science fun including fun facts, games, behind-the-scenes photos, and more!
Support OSC At Home
In these ever-changing times, it is our pleasure to adapt quality Orlando Science Center experiences to engage with everyone while they are safe at home. Please consider supporting our operating fund to ensure we can continue developing resources today and well into the future. Thank you for your generosity and support!
